Parietal EEG alpha suppression time of memory retrieval reflects memory load while the alpha power of memory maintenance is a composite of the visual process according to simultaneous and successive Sternberg memory tasks

•We investigate the effect of presentation mode on parietal alpha EEG during the memory process of the Sternberg task.•Alpha power and suppression time are investigated.•Alpha power during the maintenance is both memory load- and presentation mode-sensitive.•Alpha suppression time increased with memory load regardless of the presentation type.

The present study investigated EEG alpha activity during visual Sternberg memory tasks using two different stimulus presentation modes to elucidate how the presentation mode affected parietal alpha activity. EEGs were recorded from 10 healthy adults during the Sternberg tasks in which memory items were presented simultaneously and successively. EEG power and suppression time (ST) in the alpha band (8–13 Hz) were computed for the memory maintenance and retrieval phases. The alpha activity differed according to the presentation mode during the maintenance phase but not during the retrieval phase. Results indicated that parietal alpha power recorded during the maintenance phase did not reflect the memory load alone. In contrast, ST during the retrieval phase increased with the memory load for both presentation modes, indicating a serial memory scanning process, regardless of the presentation mode. These results indicate that there was a dynamic transition in the memory process from the maintenance phase, which was sensitive to external factors, toward the retrieval phase, during which the process converged on the sequential scanning process, the Sternberg task essentially required.